Cinnamon Cookies: Recipe and 3 Baking Tips
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: May 27, 2022 • 3 min read
Cinnamon cookies get their sweetness from sugar and warmth from cinnamon. To customize your batch, consider rolling the cookies in cinnamon sugar, adding cinnamon chips to the dough, or making a cinnamon glaze to mimic the flavors of a cinnamon roll.
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What Are Cinnamon Cookies?
Cinnamon cookies, also known as cinnamon sugar cookies, are handheld, flour-based treats flavored with cinnamon. To make a batch, start with a recipe for sugar cookies, cream cheese cookies, or butter cookies. Add cinnamon to the dough or roll the dough balls in a cinnamon-sugar mixture to turn them into cinnamon cookies.
Like chocolate chip cookies, cinnamon cookies are soft and chewy or thin and crispy depending on the ingredients in the cookie dough, like sugar and leavening agents. The astringent and warming effect of cinnamon balances the sweetness in the cookie without adding to the baking time.
Cinnamon Cookies vs. Snickerdoodles: What’s the Difference?
The main difference between cinnamon cookies and snickerdoodle cookies is the use of cream of tartar. Most cookie recipes use baking powder and baking soda as a leavening agent, but snickerdoodles use baking soda and cream of tartar. Cream of tartar is a stabilizer often used in meringue to help keep the egg whites stiff. In a snickerdoodle recipe, the cream of tartar provides lift and a tangy flavor signature to the cookie.
3 Tips for Making Cinnamon Cookies
Use the tips below for tender and balanced cinnamon cookies.
- 1. Chill the cookie dough balls before baking. Warm cookie dough spreads easier in the oven than cold cookie dough. To retain the round and slight dome shape of soft and chewy cookies, refrigerate the cookie dough balls for about thirty minutes before baking.
- 2. Choose how to add the cinnamon flavor. The more cinnamon in the cookie, the stronger the cinnamon flavor. Roll the cookie dough in cinnamon sugar, add cinnamon to the cookie dough, or add cinnamon chips to the dough.
- 3. Store the cookie dough properly. If you’re making an entire batch of cookie dough but only plan to bake a few cookies, you can refrigerate the remaining dough for up to five days. Alternatively, scoop cookie dough balls onto a cookie sheet and freeze them before transferring them to a resealable plastic bag or another airtight container.
White Chocolate Cinnamon Cookies Recipe
makes
24–32 cookiesprep time
15 mintotal time
30 mincook time
15 minIngredients
For the cookie dough:
For the cinnamon sugar and assembly:
Note: The total time does not include 30 minutes of inactive time.
Make and chill the cookie dough:
- 1
In a large bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- 2
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 7 minutes.
- 3
Crack the eggs into a small bowl.
- 4
Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- 5
Beat the butter, sugar, and egg mixture for 5 minutes.
- 6
Add the vanilla extract.
- 7
With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture.
- 8
Mix until just combined, about 30 seconds.
- 9
Using a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon, fold in the white chocolate chips by hand.
- 10
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Make the cinnamon sugar and bake the cookies:
- 1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 2
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- 3
In a medium bowl, whisk cinnamon and sugar together and set the mixture aside.
- 4
Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, scoop out the cookie dough and roll it into smooth balls.
- 5
Roll the cookie dough balls in the cinnamon sugar and space them out evenly on the baking sheets.
- 6
Bake the cookies until golden brown and set around the edges, 12–15 minutes.
- 7
Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
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